Pickathon Announces 2013 Lineup

Pickathon has announced the lineup for the 2013 festival, and it's a winner, easily their biggest lineup in the 15 years of the festival. Having fully embraced styles outside of the roots music that Pickathon is (still) best known for, this year's fest includes lots of garage rock, as well as at least one indie-pop superstar and a bunch of genuinely good buzz bands, in addition to the expected folk, country, and traditional acts. I'd venture to say its their most diverse lineup to date, and surely the most likely to reach those who still have yet to give Pickathon a try. (These people are missing out.)

The draw of Feist alone is probably bigger than any other act that's ever played Pickathon, and a clear signpost for where the festival stands today. I'm also excited by Divine Fits' first Portland-area show, Sharon Van Etten (of course), Foxygen, Andrew Bird, JD McPherson, King Tuff, Parquet Courts, Kurt Vile, White Fence, and the PIckathon return of Lake Street Dive and Breathe Owl Breathe. There are also, happily, lots of names that I don't recognize at all, which is a very good sign, taking into account Pickathon's knack for unearthing obscure talent.

This year's fest will take place, as usual, at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley on August 2-4; it's absolutely one of the best music festivals in the world—and it is priced accordingly, particularly this year, with higher ticket prices to accommodate the bigger names. Still, compared to other, bigger, much-less-fun music festivals, the price is not outrageous in my opinion. You absolutely get what you pay for. Take a look at this year's poster after the jump, and go to the Pickathon site for tickets and more info. [The site has been down intermittently this morning, but that should be temporary.]